I came across a strange little story in today's New York Post (http://www.nypost.com/seven/05312009/news/regionalnews/vinyl_treasure_in_yukky_trash_171811.htm?CMP=EMC-email_edition&DATE=05312009). It is about music-memorabilia dealer Howard Fischer and the fact that he has found many valuable music albums, old comedy recordings, and even famous speeches by Winston Churchill, all in his neighbor's trash.
"The recordings are on 7- and 10-inch plastic discs, in brown paper sleeves with handwritten labels. They were made in the mid-'40s, but it's not clear which radio shows, or even which stations, the devoted listener recorded. Fischer thinks his unknowing benefactor must have recorded the shows with some primitive device he made himself. "
Now even the Library of Congress is interested in getting its hands on these recordings.
I suppose the appropriateness of what Fischer is doing can be debated, but I can't stop thinking about the person who threw the recordings away. The person who made the originals obviously knew how unique the records are and how difficult they were to make. I suspect the person who threw them away was not the original owner and probably someone who didn't know or care about their value. Maybe it was a relative who thought, "Let's get rid of this trash." Or, "it can't be valuable if one of our family members owned it." Little did that person know the value of the "trash" right there in that apartment.
In our book, "Ordinary Greatness," we write about leaders tendencies to do this same de-valuing, but instead of music recordings, they tend to underestimate the people they lead. There are several blinders that get in the leader's way -- personal bias, preconceived notions, busyness, compartmentalization, and external focus. Any of them could be at play here.
As you interact with those you lead this week, watch out for these blinders, and remember -- there is valuable treasure right were you are. Don't throw it away!
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Leading Clever People
One of my favorite leadership titles of the past decade is "Why Should Anyone Be Led by You?" by Gareth Jones and Rob Goffee. They are at it again with "Clever – leading your smartest, most creative people" being published later this year.
I saw Stefan Stern's column about the book in the FT, (http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/643a8cec-4914-11de-9e19-00144feabdc0.html), and it got me thinking of my own list of challenges related to leading clever people:
1. They are not easily-controlled because they don't fear for their job -- they know they have talent that others will want or they can embark on their own.
2. They will only want to work on the most important, invigorating projects, often with no respect for turf or boundaries. This can drive corporate managers crazy.
3. They have a lot of influence, so it is important to keep them engaged, as others will follow their lead.
4. A real challenge is helping them see that they are not more important than the organization or the team. An expectation will have to be created that they use their impressive skill sets in service of the whole, not themselves.
Do you lead clever people? If so, what has worked for you?
I saw Stefan Stern's column about the book in the FT, (http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/643a8cec-4914-11de-9e19-00144feabdc0.html), and it got me thinking of my own list of challenges related to leading clever people:
1. They are not easily-controlled because they don't fear for their job -- they know they have talent that others will want or they can embark on their own.
2. They will only want to work on the most important, invigorating projects, often with no respect for turf or boundaries. This can drive corporate managers crazy.
3. They have a lot of influence, so it is important to keep them engaged, as others will follow their lead.
4. A real challenge is helping them see that they are not more important than the organization or the team. An expectation will have to be created that they use their impressive skill sets in service of the whole, not themselves.
Do you lead clever people? If so, what has worked for you?
Monday, May 25, 2009
Another Recognition Reminder
As you know, I am an enthusiastic proponent of managers learning new recognition strategies in order to better engage their staffs. So when I saw a column by Lucy Kellaway in today's Financial Times on what leaders should remember when recognizing good work, http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/c89a5f04-46ea-11de-923e-00144feabdc0.html, I was drawn to it.
The article is thought-provoking, and here are my take-aways:
1. We often teach that recognition should be specific, but Lucy says this is not always a good idea. She shares the example of a leader who told a direct report, "You are a brilliant administrator." Leaving it at "you are brilliant" would have been better. I hadn't thought of that before, but it makes sense. I know for me the second example would have been more effective.
2. Lucy says she is "addicted to praise." I think most of us are, and the leader who realizes this will have an awesome tool in her arsenal.
3. "Praise is hellishly difficult to get right: good praise is even more of an art form than good criticism, and bad praise is worse than none at all."
4. Lucy closes the article by stressing the importance of handwritten notes. Amen!
The article is thought-provoking, and here are my take-aways:
1. We often teach that recognition should be specific, but Lucy says this is not always a good idea. She shares the example of a leader who told a direct report, "You are a brilliant administrator." Leaving it at "you are brilliant" would have been better. I hadn't thought of that before, but it makes sense. I know for me the second example would have been more effective.
2. Lucy says she is "addicted to praise." I think most of us are, and the leader who realizes this will have an awesome tool in her arsenal.
3. "Praise is hellishly difficult to get right: good praise is even more of an art form than good criticism, and bad praise is worse than none at all."
4. Lucy closes the article by stressing the importance of handwritten notes. Amen!
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